New Delhi: Various ethnic bodies of Sikkim have demanded that a National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Inner Line Permits (ILPs) be introduced in the state to curb the menace of influx, which according to them is posing a threat to their identity.
“The need of the hour is to check the ever-growing and uncontrolled influx. The National Register of Citizens exercise should be carried out in Sikkim as there are already thousands of people with dubious citizenship on record,” says Tashi Lhamu Lepcha, general secretary of Sikkim Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (SILTA).
Accusing the Sikkim government of taking a casual approach that led to the “phenomenal changes in the state’s demographic composition”, Tseten Tashi Bhutia, convenor of Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLA), claims Sikkim has become a soft ground for illegal migrants from neighbouring countries. (PTI)
